‘Ratatouille’, the movie.
What makes it extraordinary?
I would say it’s about challenging the existing class order most beautifully and whimsically.
It may not be a realistic example as the protagonist here is a rat (Remy), but how Ratatouille has been made so relatable to everyone in some way or another is where Pixar excels in their signature style.
Can a rat dream of becoming a chef? Well, he has to accept rejections from multiple sides — from his kin, and from the humans around him. This could easily be viewed as the story of most people who dream of carving a different path compared to those around them.
And there is Linguini, who too was meted out an unfair path to charter in life. Together, Remy and Linguini decide to coordinate and showcase their strengths and hide their weaknesses. And the duo manage to astonish the culinary world of Paris, no less.
Here, the backstory of Chef Gusteau, Remy’s idol and inspiration, becomes all too significant because of his motto ‘Anyone can cook’. Gusteau represents a more evolved thought process. It also, for the same reason, could have made him a wee bit more sensitive than normal which led to his untimely end.
Though Remy’s story stretches the concept a little, ultimately it comes down to following your passion no matter what. Following your passion is easier than getting acceptance doing so from those around you, especially the ones who matter the most to you.
Linguini recognizing Remy as a qualified chef was mostly circumstantial, and the former went with the flow probably due to his own tragic life leaving him with not too many options. Even after achieving stupendous success with Remy, when Colette comes into his life, subtle cracks began to form in this friendship. And, again, it is Gusteau’s influence that leads Colette to accept Remy and his very conspicuous talent, in a ‘do or die’ kind of situation.
And it was a quite similar development in the case of his family too. It took a life-threatening attack on Remy for his family to come to his rescue and finally accept him as who he is. All along we can see how powerful and inspiring Chef Gusteau’s simple three-word motto can be!
Now comes the other protagonist of the story, the dish Ratatouille itself. A delicious stew of fresh vegetables originated from Provence, France. It has been called a dish of farmers and peasants, prepared to use the leftover summer vegetables that can fill a good number of hungry bellies. Usually made with eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, and carrots with the right dashes of herbs and spices in a hearty and creamy mixture, the humble Ratatouille transforms the story of quite a few people in this tale.
While Ratatouille is a sumptuous dish on its own, it usually works well as an accompaniment that brings together a meal. It has somewhat of a family feel to it, which is why in the climax of the story, it is aptly chosen to serve with aplomb a culinary catharsis to the ‘unfeeling’ critic. This missing puzzle piece is so powerful that it makes the entire journey of our protagonist meaningful to the core.
Anton Ego (named so for a reason) was captured as the antithesis of Chef Gusteau. He has problems with Gusteau’s belief system, his precise words were “Amusing title… ‘Anyone can cook’. What’s even more amusing is that Gusteau actually seem to believe it. I, on the other hand, take cooking seriously, and no, I don’t think anyone can do it.”
Remy’s brilliant Ratatouille could make Ego a convert to Gusteau’s belief system, rejecting his own. This would probably be the biggest achievement of their journey so far. Moreover, Ego goes on to invest in Remy’s new bistro when real life catches up with the dream.
And don’t we know that soulful food can do magic to unsuspecting souls?
